It’s an intriguing premise: a former housekeeper’s daughter, now a detective, is sent to infiltrate the filthy rich family that may be at the center of a cover-up, in which Big Pharma is the ultimate villain. The series, “Deception,” is noteworthy for some big names in its ensemble and, not least, for casting a woman of color as the lead.

“Deception” is essentially NBC’s midseason response to ABC’s “Revenge,” the sprawling soap opera set in the world of the super-rich gives almost everyone a motive and makes almost everyone a suspect. Det. Locasto’s childhood best friend, the heiress and socialite Vivian Bowers, is found dead as the story opens. Locasto is enlisted by the FBI to go undercover into the world of the Bowers, a secretive New York family she knew years earlier. Flashbacks expose past entanglements with feuding family members as the plot inevitably thickens. Whether it thickens to the point of curdling remains to be seen. Judging by the first two hours, “Deception” is not as seductive as “Revenge” and contains even more clunky acting and just as much melodramatic music.

Is it worth the investment of your time? Take it from the second episode’s dialog: “Nothing’s ever free, baby girl. Remember that.”

ABC will add 10 new series and the shift of sudsy mystery “Revenge” to the Sunday slot vacated by “Desperate Housewives.”

An alien community comedy, “The Neighbors,” will get the plum slot post-“Modern Family.” Terry O’Quinn (“Lost” will occupy the mysterious address of the title “666 Park Ave.” in a horror hour. And Andre Braugher will play a doomed submarine captain in an hour titled “Last Resort.”

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.